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INDIA (228/4) BEAT ENGLAND (227) BY SIX WICKETS WITH 42 BALLS TO SPARE Another serious beat-down for England, who were outplayed in every department. Yet again they seemed to have little or no idea how to score against spin. They then defended their 227 like it was 287; they really needed to go on all-out attack, not try to fiddle overs from the likes of Root. The stand-out players for India were R Ashwin with three wickets and Ambati Rayudu with a neatly made 64*. As a sporting contest it was pretty dull for about five of the seven hours because you never felt that England could put a total together from 120/4 after 28 overs. Thus it proved. The search for 50-over competence continues. Thanks for following this one with us, see you on Tuesday for the fourht ODI.

OVER 43: IND 228/4 (Rayudu 64* Jadeja 12*) Pair of singles and then the always-enjoyable five to Jadeja, becuase of overthrows. In fairness to England, this was because Rayudu got in Buttler's way as the throw went in. And, again, in fairness to Rayudu, he apologised straight away. But the runs stand. Various singles in the over and then Rayudu flips the ball over the onside, they run three and that's the win.

WICKET! Raina c Woakes b Tredwell 42 Raina comes down the track and tries to work it away with the wrists. It very nearly works, he gets a lot of it, but it's in the air and this is a smartly taken running catch by Woakes at deep extra cover. FOW 207/4

OVER 40pp: IND 207/3 (Rayudu 55* Raina 42*) Raina within a fag-paper of chopping on, cutting a ball from Woakes - for it is he - that was too close to the stumps.Selfishly, seemingly forgetting that some fans are leaving and some live bloggers are in dire need of a snack, Woakes only goes for three runs off the over. The powerplay comes to a close, it yielded 34/0.

OVER 39pp: IND 204/3 (Rayudu 54* Raina 40*) James Tredwell comes back on. Gets one to turn, totally foxes Rayudu, who has come down the track. This should be stumped, but Buttler has missed the ball. Dearie me. "Cook arranging the deckchairs before the Titanic goes down," notes Atherton as the skipper tinkers with the field/weighs up who to bowl next. Whoever will go for 24 runs in one over so we can all go home, would be my vote.

OVER 38pp: IND 200/3 (Rayudu 51* Raina 39*) Rayudu reaches a nicely made half cenutry. He slams Finn back down the ground, the big man taking evasive action, and then plays a clever, creative uppercut over the slips for four. Well batted. Not exactly the most testing international runs ever made, but a good addition to the CV.

OVER 37pp: IND 188/3 (Rayudu 40* Raina 39*) Woakes is on. Raina with a super lofted drive for four, and after a brace of singles - Rayudu spotting the slower ball well - Raina is back on strike for a nicely controlled pull. Four for that too.

OVER 36pp: IND 178/3 (Rayudu 39* Raina 30*) Rayudu comes down the track and opens up his body to give room, but Finn follows him. Next ball though, the batsman can free his arms and he strokes this attracitvely through the covers for four. That's drinks. Not long now. England do know there's no net run rate, right?

OVER 35: IND 173/3 (Rayudu 35* Raina 29*) Five off Jimmy's over means that India now need just 55 from 15 overs.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Peter Miller - They are just so dull. India have won this game. It will take them an hour of knocking it around to do it.&lt;/noframe&gt;

OVER 34: IND 168/3 (Rayudu 34* Raina 25*) Finn's back. Rayudu cuts him very fine for four. Ball's not doing anything off the pitch or in the air. Game drifting to the inveitable conclusion.

OVER 33: IND 163/3 (Rayudu 30* Raina 24*) Probably too late, but Cook turns to Anderson to see if his gun bowler can magick up something out of nothing. Moment of minor excitement when Raina gets a leading edge but it goes nowhere near any Englishman.

OVER 32: IND 160/3 (Rayudu 29* Raina 23*) Rubbish from Stokes. A wide, that Buttler cannot gather. They get a bonus run. Single off every ball of the over bar the last, which is short, wide and hopeless. Raina spanks it through point for a boundary and that makes 11 off the over, too. 68 needed from 18 overs, RRR 3.78

OVER 31: IND 149/3 (Rayudu 26* Raina 17*) Aaaaaand that's the over that has finally peed me off. It's Rooty bowling - now into his fourth over, which seems excessive to me. Is Cook hoping to save his real bowlers for overs 45-50? Because surely it will be all over by then? I would like to see England have had a real go at India with the quicks in the first half of this innings. Anyway, Raina plays the same short three balls in a row, running it behind gully to third man. Steve Finn has three chases to make. Four, four and three is the result, there are 11 runs off the over and that is irritating.

OVER 29: IND 133/3 (Rayudu 24* Raina 3*) Root replaces Tredwell. Rayudu sweeps hard, good stop by Finn on the boundary to keep it to two. Wide down leg from Root, poor show. Various other stress-free ones and twos on offer for the Indians.

OVER 28: IND 126/3 (Rayudu 19* Raina 2*) Rayudu beaten by a good one from Stokes, but spots an obvious slower ball early to work it for one. Three off the over.

OVER 27: IND 123/3 (Rayudu 17* Raina 1*) Tredwell, bowling well, teasing Raina (not about, like his weight, or failure to play the bouncer on the last tour here - I mean teasing him with dip and flight). Raina watching it like a hawk, not wanting to get done in the flight. Three off the over. Peter Rowntree writes:

Let's hope that wicket does Steve Finn a power of good.

I come back on Thorn's point with respect. Like other sports it has to be borne in mind that cricket is an entertainment. There is an argument that in ODI cricket bowlers need to be more accurate with line and length that any other form of the game. There have been some wonderful matches in this year's domestic competition and Kent seem to have taken part in more than their fair share of them. Take yesterday's match, despite a long innings by Sam Northeast not scoring enough and looking on their way out to Gloucester. In comes Sam Billings and changes everything. Sam looks to be a real find in this form of cricket.

OVER 26: IND 120/3 (Rayudu 15* Raina 0*) Surely India cannot stuff this up? Raina comes in, tries to play across the line, and is hit on the pads.

WICKET! Kohli c Tredwell b Stokes 40 That is a genuine surprise. Kohli had just creamed the ball through the covers for four and then he decided to flip a straight ball to leg. Very wristy, but surely needlessly extravagant given the situation. He's just flicked it to Tredwell at mid on, and the chance for a much-needed score goes begging for Virat. The England players seem to be having a few words with him as he trudges off, he is furious with himself. FOW 120/3

OVER 25: IND 116/2 (Kohli 36* Rayudu 15*) Kohli crackles into life, slaughtering a pull over the fielders, it lands a few feet inside the rope for four. Cook has figured out that he needs to bowl the pacers, and Stokes is coming back.

OVER 24: IND 109/2 (Kohli 30* Rayudu 14*) Couple of sweeps off Root, two runs to Virat, and a very thin bottom edge by Rayudu for four. This is tippy-tappy stuff and these Indian batsmen are going to stroll home against the likes of Root and, to a lesser extent, Tredwell. Got to get the seamers on.

OVER 23: IND 102/2 (Kohli 27* Rayudu 10*) Rayudu looking organised and Kohli looking more like himself. Four runs off the Tredwell over and India round the 100-mark in third gear.

OVER 22: IND 98/2 (Kohli 26* Rayudu 7*) Joe Root on to see if he can... I dunno what we're hoping to see. No particular sense of urgency. He's got a leg slip though. Two off the over.

After reading some comments and mails claiming that odi is micky mouse cricket and all , this is nothing but silly excuse , its cricket and we should love , its 50 over game , we can say micky mouse cricket to 20 over game , and your team is that bad in limited overs game then how the hell they made up in champions trophy final and won t20 world cup , just dont lose faith in limited overs game if your team is not performing.

Brutal approach to punctuation but I think Vivek makes an interesting point.

OVER 20: IND 91/2 (Kohli 23* Rayudu 4*) Finn continues, three runs off his over. Tries Rayudu with a short one that he plays nicely. Good running between the wickets turns a one into a two behind point. A couple of rather gloomy clouds overhead at Trent Bridge.

OVER 19: IND 88/2 (Kohli 22* Rayudu 2*) Cook brings Tredwell back and is rewarded with a tidy two-run over.

OVER 18: IND 86/2 (Kohli 21* Rayudu 1*) The new man gets off the mark with a single, making it a seven run over. Kohli had pulled Finn for three, a bouncer was miles wide on eight.

WICKET! Rahane c Buttler b Finn 45 Well bowled Finny! Good nut, just does a bit, Rahane pokes at it and Buttler does the rest. Let's hope this is the start of a new chapter for Steven. It came off the fifth ball of a rather, erm, mixed over, but who cares? FOW 85/2 and we will use this chance to have drinks

OVER 17: IND 79/1 (Rahane 44* Kohli 17*) Four dots, then Kohli absolutely mullers the ball through the covers. As hard a shot as you will ever see. It reaches the man on the boundary - Root, I think - in the blink of an eye, second bounce, and practically knocks him over. Only one for it. Rahane beaten off the last ball of the over, a lazy attempt to run it down to third man and the ball nearly slides off the bat face. Englnd need a freak dismissal here.

OVER 16: IND 78/1 (Rahane 44* Kohli 16*) Finny gets one to bounce and beat Rahane, but both batsmen deal with the rest of the over without much difficulty. Nice situation for Kohli: he can play himself back into form without scoreboard pressure.

OVER 15: IND 74/1 (Rahane 42* Kohli 14*) Stokes into the attack, and he has to watch his third ball soar over extra cover for six. Rahane, who faces every ball of the over, content just to take one further single.

OVER 14: IND 67/1 (Rahane 35* Kohli 14*) Finn. Important over, again. Looks to me like he is a bit more side-on than he used to be and that his arm is lower. Rahane smears him for four through the covers.

OVER 13: IND 61/1 (Rahane 30* Kohli 13*) Tredwell marmalised for six by Kohli! Great use of the wrists to control the shot back down the ground. Thorn writes:

Cook will be an OK captain, given time. Swann is a Judas. ODI is Mickey Mouse cricket devised to excite those too thick to understand Test cricket, but happy to part with their cash and pay to watch a game that doesn't tax their powers to appreciate the complexities of the real game over several days of many drained glasses of the amber nectar.

OVER 12: IND 54/1 (Rahane 30* Kohli 6*) Here's Steve Finn. Big moment. Meticulous marking out of his run up. Seems to be marking out a guideline to run down. Come on Finny. Starts with a poor ball, short and wide. Two. Next two are decent, straight and quick. but too much width to Rahane on the next three balls, three nice shots. One lofted over extra cover for four, the nextr straight to the fielder at mid off, then a two off the back foot to Anderson at backward point. Eight runs off the over, Finn's first for England in a year.

OVER 11: IND 46/1 (Rahane 22* Kohli 6*) James Tredwell is the slightly surpising choice for this over. Respectable fare. Four off it.

OVER 10: IND 42/1 (Rahane 21* Kohli 3*) Rahane creams another one back at Woakes but the seamer stops this with the old size 12. England have won the powerplay! They were 48/0 after their first ten; India are 42/1. Take that, Shastri! How do you like dem apples, Shilpa Shetty? Not laughing now, are you, Arundhati Roy? And other unfunny faux jingoism.

OVER 9: IND 41/1 (Rahane 21* Kohli 2*) Anderson would much prefer to bowl at Kohli, but it's not to be in this over. Rahane dismisses his third ball, an exquisite piece of timing, stroked down the ground for four. Watchful to the rest.

OVER 8: IND 37/1 (Rahane 17* Kohli 2*) The out-of-sorts Virat Kohli comes in. How will he play this as he tries to get back into nick? At Cardiff, he just went for a huge, pre-determined shot. He's more watchful here, blocking three, and then working it off the pads for two and a big cheer.

WICKET! Dhawan c Morgan b Woakes 16 Just when it looked like Dhawan might be finding his feet, he's gone. He slammed the first ball of the Woakes over back past the bowler before, and then tried to cut wristily behind point second ball. He hit it very hard, but Morgan pulled off a very good catch, and Dhawan's day is over. He didn't look quite right. FOW 35/1

OVER 7: IND 31/0 (Rahane 17* Dhawan 12*) Anderson plugging away but not being supported by Cook, who has removed the slips. Still got a gully. Rahane inside edges and very nearly chops on! Anderson, varying his pace and angles, keeping the batsmen quiet.

OVER 6: IND 28/0 (Rahane 15* Dhawan 12*) Got the feeling it might not be Shikhar Dhawan's day. He's had a hard time timing the ball, and now he's at last connected with one, lacing it through backward point where Morgan produces a wonderful stop. There are four off the over.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Dan Liebke - If England had made this total 15-20 years ago, it'd be considered very defensible. Especially since the Indian batsmen would be children.&lt;/noframe&gt;

OVER 5: IND 24/0 (Rahane 14* Dhawan 9*) Rahane beaten by a snorter from Jimmy. Both batsmen really just looking to hang on at the moment.

OVER 4: IND 22/0 (Rahane 13* Dhawan 8*) Maiden from Woakes to Dhawan, who has not settled.

OVER 3: IND 22/0 (Rahane 13* Dhawan 8*) Two boundaries from Rahane in this over, chalk and cheese but both excellent. First a savage flat pull and now a classical cover drive. 11 off the over.

OVER 2: IND 11/0 (Rahane 3* Dhawan 5*) Mince from Chris Woakes. Short and wide outside off, cracked through point for three by Dhawan. Now full and down leg to Rahane, sent on its way for four. Good short ball to Rahane, to be fair, that hits the bat handle. And Dhawan hasn't played this short one very well at all either - gets in a pickle and it slides off his leading edge. Safe. But overall, a nine-run over and England cannot afford too many of them given the total.

OVER 1: IND 2/0 (Rahane 0* Dhawan 1*) James Anderson to open. Rahane on strike. Swing from ball one, couple of slips. David Lloyd says "England need to bowl India out. This is crying out for three slips, or two and a gully. Premier bowler, swinging it." Can't argue with any of that. Leg bye and a single.

14.20 A couple of emails and then we'll crack on with the India reply. Evan Dunn:

Cook is not the man for the one day job. As expressed by so many others, his pedestrian start puts pressure on this who should just add the runs at the end for fun, Morgan, Buttler etc.

Meanwhile, it sounds like Alan Houghton has had enough of Cook's perceived touchiness

Some batsmen need a runner in the middle, I fully expect that Cook will take a lawyer out there in the Ashes so any Aussie sledgers can be served up a juicy injunction.

INNINGS BREAK: INDIA WILL CHASE 228 TO WIN That could have been any England ODI performance over the last 20 years. We did alright in the first hour against the swinging ball, because were able to treat it like a Test match, but once the spinners came on, it was the traditional blend of block-block-block-panic-heave-disaster. The ball's swinging a bit and there is a shower forecast for around 5pm but, really, you'd have to expect India to hose up here. Join me in a few minutes and we'll see.

OVER 50: ENG 227/10 (Anderson 0*) Anderson comes in to a chorus of boos. Time to update the laughable Tebbit Test, maybe. The batsmen crossed so Jimmy won't face, he's in a helmet nevertheless. In fact, his sole duty is to be a pinch runner, Finn knocks it to leg, they come back for a second and Steve is run out by a hair. Finn run out 6 England get just one for that shot albeit that the lastover has given them a handy 18 runs. FOW 227/10

WICKET! Tredwell c&b Bhu Kumar 30 Coming around the wicket, B Kumar gives Tredwell width and he carves it through point for four. And what do you know, James Tredwell has hit the next one for six bcak over the bowler's head! And it's a front foot no ball. England's cup runneth over. After a few singles, the might Tredders charges down the pitch and slices the ball past point for another four. This all going very well for Tredwell, but then he tries one shot too many, doesn't get hold of it and the bolwer himself claims the skier. FOW 226/9

OVER 49: ENG 209/8 (Tredwell 15* Finn 4*) Shami. No boundaries, no wickets. Can England whack a couple in their final over? It will be bowled by B Kumar.

OVER 48: ENG 205/8 (Tredwell 13* Finn 2*) Ashwin completes an excellent set, three overs for 39. The Watford Wall comes in ahead of the Burnley Lara and England add three singles off the last four balls of that over.

WICKET! Buttler b Ashwin 42 Off the first ball of the over, Jos plays a signature reverse sweep, getting himself a crisp four. But that's all she wrote one ball later, when he tries to heave the ball over long on and misses. Would have been stumped had he not been bowled; didn't pick the slower delivery. FOW 202/8

OVER 47: ENG 198/7 (Buttler 38* Tredwell 12*) Tredwell going for some shots. Gets lucky when a top edge flies over the keeper for two. Now he backs away to slice it through the offside for four, and now smears a pull away for a second boundary. Peter Rowntree writes:

Swann has every right to voice his opinions, and this English performance so predictable. The selectors only have to look at the results in the domestic 50 overs competition to see that the majority of sides winning have been scoring around 300 or more. So they now know clearly what they have to do build us a side that can score 300 or we have no chance of making any sort of impact.

OVER 46: ENG 186/7 (Buttler 37* Tredwell 1*) Four runs off the over and four balls of it faced by Tredwell, clearly imperative that Buttler faces as many of the remaining 24 deliveries as possible. Jadeja finishes his work: ten overs one for 38.

OVER 45: ENG 182/7 (Buttler 35*) The problem with ODI cricket as a sporting format, IMHO, is that you can too often predict whether it will be a fun game after the first 25% of the action. Of course, it's not impossible that England can win this: that's not what I am saying. But the chance of it being an exciting game, once they were four down in 28 overs, were slim. I think that position is roughly 2-0 down in 20 minutes in football i.e. unlikely to be a good match for the specator from that point.

WICKET! Woakes c Mohit Sharma b Shami 15 First shot Woakesy has played in anger, and he's hit it hard and flat straight to the man at cow corner. Smart catch. FOW 182/7

OVER 44: ENG 180/6 (Buttler 34* Woakes 14*) What do you know, England have hit a boundary, Jos the man with the reverse sweep for four. Raina the bowler. Mohammad Shami will return to bowl the next over.

OVER 43: ENG 173/6 (Buttler 29* Woakes 12*) Something of a bumper over as England score six. Not 'a six'. That would be madness. Ones and twos off Ravi J.

OVER 42: ENG 167/6 (Buttler 27* Woakes 8*) Sorry I have fallen a little behind the asking rate, these spinners racing through the overs. Three of Raina.

OVER 41: ENG 164/6 (Buttler 25* Woakes 7*) Powerplay, no powerplay, all the same really because England are not looking to score boundaries, just bat out their overs and get to their precious 230 or 240. Or ideally 239, the score that their boffins told them should win 72% of the time, as revealed by Graeme Swann on TMS recently.

"I've sat in these [team strategy] meetings for the last five years. It was a statistics-based game. There was this crazy stat where if we get 239 - this was before the fielding restrictions changed a bit so it would be more now, I assume - we will win 72% of matches.

OVER 40pp: ENG 161/6 (Buttler 23* Woakes 6*) And Ashwin closes out the powerplay with another three-run over. The five overs of fielding restrictions produce 12 runs for one wicket. It really is all just so familiar.

OVER 38pp: ENG 155/6 (Buttler 19* Woakes 4*) Two runs and not even a single wicket in this Ashwin over. England cling onto the ropes.

OVER 37pp: ENG 153/6 (Buttler 18* Woakes 3*) Dhoni is such a boss. The all-rounder spinner Jadeja to bowl the second over of the powerplay with a slip.. and now Dhoni has brought a second slip in! Ha ha ha. Awesome captaincy, going for the jug. England as a cricket team, to my mind, just lack that sort of inate competitive sense of when to go for the throat. Not saying it always works, but my goodness it puts the wind up the opponent. And it's just cool.

An email from Ron Seale:

Isn't this all rather familiar? There is no doubt that the ECB and Oneday Selectors have only themselves to blame as England crumble yet again. Given that the ECB are all-knowing and all-wise it is difficult to know where we go from here .... indeed maybe the ECB can give fans one single reason for continuing to watch such agony - not that they care what the fans think, of course!

OVER 36pp: ENG 150/6 (Buttler 17* Woakes 1*) Just one run off that over and England are reeling.

WICKET! Stokes c Raina b Ashwin 2 England survive three balls of the powerplay without losing a wicket, small victories and all that. india are absolutely on fire, just such a different proposition in their coloured outfits compared to that shower they put out for the Tests. Good ball pitches and grips, takes the edge, and this is a magnificent catch at slip by Suresh Raina. No way and Indian Test slip would have caught that. FOW 149/6

OVER 35: ENG 149/5 (Buttler 17* Stokes 2*) Double change (not sure I'd bother if I was MSD, keep the spinners on) as Bhu Kumar comes on for an over. Nice force off the back foot gives Buttler three. A Mr McGuigan writes:

One absolutely ludicrous name in there. No way they'll bring Ravi back.

Anyhow, it's powerplay time. Brace yourself, Widdle. This may hurt.

OVER 34: ENG 143/5 (Buttler 14* Stokes 0*) Still, not all bad, as England - in the shape of a Jos Buttler force through the offside - have hit a boundary, their first since the 18th over.

WICKET! Bell run out 28 Ah, classic stuff. England playing the hits now. Bell's run out going for a second, direct hit from Mohit Sharma, nice throw, Bell out by 18 inches or so. Buttler played it out into the deep at mid off, they ran one, but the second was not on. Bell didn't run in a straight line as he came back to the non-striker's end. Even still, it took a fine throw. FOW 138/5

OVER 33: ENG 137/4 (Bell 28* Buttler 8*) Dhoini turns back to seam, it's Shami, and there are four off the over including a legside wide.

OVER 32: ENG 133/4 (Bell 28* Buttler 5*) And two off Ashwin. I saw England hit a boundary once, you know.

OVER 31: ENG 131/4 (Bell 27* Buttler 4*) Four off Jadeja...

OVER 30: ENG 127/4 (Bell 24* Buttler 3*) I think I am going to group those last two overs into one. Jadeja and Ashwin send down 12 brisk, decent deliveries, England manage seven singles and we await the massive heave that will lead to the next wicket.

Morning Alan. Reporting in from southern Spain overlooking the rock of Gibraltar and the remnants of Wednesday's forest fire. Swann is no doubt trying his best to earn a crust in his journalist's hat but we still have no better long term replacement for Cook, even if taking the captaincy from him would free up his run scoring capabilities. Long term, Root looks like a solid and enthusiastic option for test captain, and potentially sooner rather than later would be best. Only if, however, it's given with the understanding that he's allowed to grow into the role and make mistakes. If not, he'll have no chance to mould his team and we'll see the same inconsistency we've witnessed over the last few years.

OVER 28: ENG 120/4 (Bell 20*) Cracking ball.

WICKET! Morgan c Dhoni b Ashwin 10 You'd imagine that would be the game, as Morgan goes cheaply. No shame in getting out to this delivery mind you. Dhoni brough Ashwin back on and, off the last ball of the over, Rashers produced a delightful ball that pitched middle and off, turned away and bounced. Thin edge, Dhoni does the rest, and England are all-but done. FOW 120/4

OVER 27: ENG 117/3 (Bell 18* Morgan 9*) Nice back cut from Bell would have been four were it not for a heroic bit of fielding from Dhawan on the third man rope. Bell and Morgs hustle four singles, they're batting well as a pair in these early days of this crucial partnership.

OVER 26: ENG 110/3 (Bell 13* Morgan 7*) Pretty much identical over as England take five ones off Raina. How often have we seen England in this position? Decent start against the pacers, undone by a battery of Asian twirlymen? You'd be an optimist indeed to fancy them to post a winning score here.

OVER 25: ENG 105/3 (Bell 10* Morgan 5*) Morgs and Bell begin the rebuilding process with four singles off Jadeja.

OVER 24: ENG 101/3 (Bell 8* Morgan 3*) The overs coming thick and fast, much like the England wickets hur hur, and Raina bustles through a three-run set.

OVER 23: ENG 98/3 (Bell 7* Morgan 1*) That was a cracking ball from Sir Jadeja, you have to say.

WICKET! Root st Dhoni b Jadeja 2 India are on the charge and it's an all-too familiar story for England. Decent start against the pacers, but struggling to score against the spinners, leading to some poor choices and failed attempts to force the pace. Dhoni with a battery of useful if not top class spinners to call on, shuffled the pack and brings on Rav Jadeja. He produces a nicely flighted delivery that has Joe Root coming forward, groping, reaching, and overbalancing as he drives at thin air, the ball beating his outside edge. Dhoni gathers and whips the bails off, it is very tight, but it is correctly called out. Picture below shows the moment when the stumps were broken. FOW 97/3

OVER 22: ENG 96/2 (Bell 6* Root 2*) Raina spins one, it hits Root on the pads and this is a very good LBW shout indeed. Ooh, saved on height, umpire's call it would have been.

OVER 21: ENG 94/2 (Bell 5* Root 1*) Not an unfamiliar story for England: all going fine until there's a few dot balls and then it's panic stations, followed by two quick wickets. Pleased for Ambati Rayudu mind you, not least for the hilarious LBW appeal he had delivered a couple of balls previously.

WICKET! Cook st Dhoni b Rayudu 44 Rayudu has his first international wicket, Cook has galloped down the pitch, Rayudu sees him coming and fires it down the legside. Cook is done all ends up, Dhoni gathers and the England captain is stumped by a country mile.

OVER 20: ENG 90/1 (Cook 43* Bell 4*) As do the likewise modest off-breaks of Suresh Raina, and he nearly suckers another one when Cook misses with a sweep.

OVER 19: ENG 86/1 (Cook 41* Bell 2*) Dhoni looking to rattle through a few cheap overs with the new batsman, Bell, bedding in. Ambati Rayudu's off-breaks go for four.

OVER 18: ENG 82/1 (Cook 39*) That wicket the result of some good pressure over the last few overs. Hales didn't really need to go for that low-percentage release shot because Cook had cashed in on a poor ball from Raina, pulling a four, earlier in the over and England had also already had three singles. Chalk it up to experience.

WICKET! Hales c Dhoni b Raina 42 Ah shame, but not a surprise. Hales had become becalmed and his judgement deserted him as he attempted a risky sweep. The ball bounced, took the top edge, and Dhoni had the simplest of looped chances. FOW 82/1

OVER 17: ENG 75/0 (Cook 33* Hales 41*) Shami keeps Hales quiet for a couple of dots and the frustration bites for Alex, who has a massive heave and a miss. He's not been able to score too quickly for a few overs and this is part of the challenge of ODI cricket, to be able to find a run, and also not to panic if the bowlers do get on top of you for a few overs. With Mohit Sharma off the field, Dhoni has to find overs from somehwere. And it looks like he will turn to Raina.

OVER 16: ENG 74/0 (Cook 32* Hales 41*) A brace of singles but Ashwin has got Hales on the back foot for the rest of the over, literally and figuratively, for four dots.

OVER 15: ENG 72/0 (Cook 31* Hales 40*) Shami doing a decent job for his side with a tight three-run over.

OVER 14: ENG 69/0 (Cook 30* Hales 38*) England have only been and hit a boundary against a spinner. Imagine! Hales is the hero, chip-sweeping Ashwin for four through the legside, and with four singles ot go with, this is a handy over.

OVER 13: ENG 61/0 (Cook 28* Hales 32*) Shami keeps Cook quiet and there are two off the over. Andrew Holgate writes:

The BBC has made 50 years of MOTD where ex-players praise and criticise the current brood. The players don't whine and moan about it, they get on and play the next game. Why should cricket be any different?

The disappointing thing is that Cook has reacted to the comments rather than just concentrating on the next match. Seriously, grow some Alastair. You represent your country and lead that team. I bet the Aussies are rubbing their hands with glee and dreaming up some witty and cunning sledges for him.

India to win by 4 wickets (if the rain holds off).

OVER 12: ENG 59/0 (Cook 27* Hales 31*) Time for a bit of spin. Ashwin - but this is a shot from Alex Hales! Strides and chips it over the covers for four. Ashwin comes back at him with a big turner though, spinds back to beat the inside edge and MSD has the bails off. Nothing doing, stumping-wise, but well bowled nonetheless.

OVER 11: ENG 52/0 (Cook 26* Hales 25*) Couple to Cook and a pair of singles from a tidy Bhu Kumar over, his sixth, 22 for none so far.

OVER 10: ENG 48/0 (Cook 23* Hales 24*) Smashing pull from Cook, although just one further run in the over. Still, this is solid start against two new balls in swing-friendly conditions. Mohit Sharma, meanwhile, looks like he might be done for the day, hobbling into the dressing room now in a bandage.

OVER 9: ENG 43/0 (Cook 18* Hales 24*) Luck's a funny thing, isn't it? Cook was all out of it earlier in the summer, but he seems to be enjoying a bit now. He's edged one through gully, he's inside edged onto his pads. Four off the over. Alan Houghton writes:

The cry-baby antics of Cook upset by his old pal are worrying because it implies the relationship works both ways and that's why certain folk seem undroppable.

OVER 8: ENG 39/0 (Cook 17* Hales 21*) Mohammed Shami on for a bowl. Second delivery is a gentle half volley, stroked down the ground for four by Hales. Good comeback though as he beats Hales outside off. Poor shot from Alex, flat-footed and flat-batted, fiddling at it needlessly. Three off the pads for Hales, an attempted yorker. Hales looking in the mood.

Mohit Sharma has left the field for treatment. He's on the grass just outside the boundary rope with shoe and sock off, grimacing as the physio has a look at his toes/instep. Not too sure what's going on with him.

OVER 6: ENG 24/0 (Cook 12* Hales 11*) Too short from Mohit Sharma and Cook is on that like a flash. Cracking pull shot for the firt boundary of the day. Despite then being beaten outside off, Cook now plays a nice shot into the offside that is well stopped by Virat K. Just one for that, but it brings Hales on strike. The policy of bolwing straight at him and not giving him room had worked nicely up until now, but for some reason Mohit Sharma now totally abandons it, hanging two balls outside off stump at a friendly pace. Hales strokes them both to the boundary with attractice fours and the England innings is now cooking on gas.

OVER 5: ENG 11/0 (Cook 7* Hales 3*) A single to each man, both to third man. Hales a controlled chop, Cook a thick edge. Ball is on top here in nice conditions for swing bowling.

OVER 4: ENG 9/0 (Cook 6* Hales 2*) Second let-off for Cooky, as he is trapped on the back foot, squared up. The ball takes the edge and flies wide of second slip. To Hales, meanwhile, the Indian opening bowlers are bowling almost all inswing, not giving him room. hales responds by taking a risky single to mid-on; a direct hit would have been very very close.

OVER 3: ENG 6/0 (Cook 5* Hales 0*) Another quiet over in the face of some decent swing bowling. Cook is looking to get across his stumps. Comes along way across to flick a two, good shot but not without risk against a bowler swinging it in. Not Cook tries the same shot again, gets a leading edge, and it lucky that it lobs over the bowler!

OVER 2: ENG 4/0 (Cook 3* Hales 0*) Mohit Sharma takes the other new ball and sets about an impressive over. He beats Cook outside off with one that just does a little bit. Just one to Cook and then Mohit finds a challenging line to the righty Hales as well. EArly signs are that there is a bit of swing, not much seam, and that it is a slowish pitch.

OVER 1: ENG 3/0 (Cook 2* Hales 0*) After a legside single to Cook, there's nearly a major bummer for the home crowd second ball when local boy Alex Hales tries to pull a short one. It swings in, and it keeps a bit low. Hales cloths it and it's caught down the legside by Dhoni. Not sure what that hit, but the umpire decides that whatever it was, it wasn't the bat and, despite a big Indian appeal, Hales is ok. Thigh pad, I think. Some significant in-swing for Kumar in that over. A leg bye off Hales and now a single to Cook and that's three off the over.

10.29 There's some cloud cover in Nottingham but the sun is trying to peek through and here is Kumar with the first ball.

10.25 So then. To cricket. The under-fire Alastair Cook will shortly be out to bat, accompanied by the exciting Alex Hales. The admirable Bhu Kumar will open the bowling, and I need to get out of this the -ADJECTIVE- -NAME- construction right away.